Chitosan/polyvinylpyrrolidone‐silica hybrid membranes for pervaporation separation of methanol/ethylene glycol azeotrope |
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| Authors: | Qiu Gen Zhang Wen Wei Hu Qing Lin Liu Ai Mei Zhu |
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| Affiliation: | Department of Chemical & Biochemical Engineering, National Engineering Laboratory for Green Chemical Productions of Alcohols, Ethers and Esters, College of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China |
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| Abstract: | Chitosan (CS)/polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP)‐silica hybrid membranes are prepared to separate the methanol/ethylene glycol (EG) azeotrope. These hybrid membranes are formed in semi‐interpenetrating network structure at the molecular scale via sol‐gel reactions between CS and tetraethoxysilane (TEOS). The physico‐chemical property and morphology of the as‐prepared membranes are investigated in detail. They have lower crystallinity, higher thermal stability, and denser structure than the pristine CS membrane and its blending counterpart. The as‐prepared hybrid membranes demonstrate excellent performances and a great potential in pervaporation separation of methanol/EG. Silica‐hybridization depressed the swelling degree of membranes in the azeotrope, and remarkably enhanced methanol sorption selectivity. The membrane containing 7.77 wt % PVP and 14.52 wt % TEOS has a permeation flux of 0.119 kg m?2 h?1 and separation factor of 1899. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013 |
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| Keywords: | membranes separation techniques composites |
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